The Story of the Swan
by Kitesu
Summary: The ice is what gives her her purpose and she gives that ice the same in return. She is nothing to her without the ice. It is what gives her life. Marina Sokolova was once a prodigy for the art of skating. However, she quit when she was ready to advance at a whole new league of skating. Now, no one ever hears of her. Nothing has her name on it anymore.


Prologue

The ice is what gives her her purpose and she gives that ice the same in return. She is nothing to her without the ice. It is what gives her life.

When her thin blades touch the glass-like surface the girl's heart beats rapidly with excitement. Ice skates have a unique sound when they touch the ice and that sound is what she looks forward to every time she performs.

As she treads lightly to the center of the ice, the lights shined on her pure white dress with elegant grey and white feathers that adorned its skirt. Every pupil in the rink was on her, it was her last performance for the season and she was going to make all of the blood, sweat, and tears she shed worth it.

"Coming to the ice performing her last program as a junior, Marina Sokolova. For her free program she will be skating to 'Not About Angels,' by Birdy." The people cheered in eagerness to see how their swan would finish her last year as a junior.

The music began and Marina swayed for a moment and skated around in a small circle. She could feel the rhythm line up her heart beat. This song was the perfect choice for her last season as a junior.

As the music began to pick up pace, Marina took the opportunity to perform a triple Salchow. She changed the her movement to backwards and turn three times to prepare for her jump.

"Into her first jump of the first half, she is going to do a triple Sal." Marina turned the back inside of her left foot and pulled herself up in the chilling air and rotated three times; when she completed her third rotation the jump felt incomplete for some odd reason. She landed back on the right outside edge of her blade as lightly as she could, "Perfection, Sokolov landed her first jump with grace."

The music continued and Marina continued skating; she could feel tears taking form around her eyes. Memories began to flash before her.

Not now, she thought and repeated to her. In order to focus she performed a triple Lutz, triple flip combination. The audience roared at the seemingly flawless jumps she accomplished. However, they don't know what truly happens on the ice. Marina would have slipped if her momentum had not carried her. She scoffed. One of the judges was bound to have seen the error.

One little mistake was not going to be the end of her.

 _If this is my last performance before I take on a new league, then I'm going to give it my all._

* * *

The music faded into the silent rink. People dazed at what they just witnessed. Marina Sokolova, the radiant swan who filled everyone's gaze with beauty.

Marina stood in the middle of the ice in her finishing pose, she struggled to find a steady pace of breath. She did it…her last performance in the junior leagues. So, what did you guys think? The ice skater thought to herself.

Applause filled the once silent rink, people stood from their seats (even a few people cried). Marina took this as her cue to fall down to the ice and curl up in a ball. Her body ached all over, but she didn't give a care in the entire skating world. It took the last bit of energy she had to pull herself up off her chilling stage and waved to everyone.

Flowers were thrown onto the ice. Cameras flashed. Marina started to feel nauseous. _Huh?_ All the fatigue on her body came crashing at once, she swayed back and forth until she couldn't hold on anymore.

"Marina!" She could see Marco rush onto the ice and dive into a slide(like a baseball player would) and caught his swan in the blur of the moment. Marina felt his arms encircle her petite body; she looked up into her coach's pale gray eyes.

Oh how she loved those eyes.

"Hey coach," Marina smiled a closed eye smile. _I'm so dead later._

Marco grinned at her then gave her an annoyed look, "You idiot," he hissed through his teeth and kept a low voice. He could feel an irk appear across his forehead, "You've been practicing on your rest days haven't you."

"Yep, dead."

Marco sighed, "Oh well, you did amazing out there. Besides, you've already gave yourself your punishment. Now let's go get your score." He put one arm on her back, the other beneath her knees then gently lifted her up. "Man, you're fat-" Marco bit his tongue Marina punched her coach on the side of his face.

"Coach, let's not say a word until we get my results okay?" Marina smiled.

The pair made their way off the ice and Marina looked at it with a sorrowful look, but at the same time she looked forward to a new world. She screamed excitedly inside. "Hurry, coach!" With the hit of an elbow, Marco growled and hurried to the small booth where the skater and their coach wait for the results. Off the ice, Marco set Marina in a chair at the booth and put covers on the bottom of her skate blades.

Cameras were flashing all over the place. They sat for a little bit and waited patiently for Marina's score. She sat up straight as a stick and fidgeted with her hands. The swan couldn't stop sweating waterfalls. _Please be okay. Please be okay. Please-_

A hands grabbed Marina's, she opened her eyes to find a tan, well-toned hand grab her snowy white, gross sweaty hand. "Marina," her icy blue eyes trailed up to meet her coaches. He spoke to her in a soft, gentle whisper, "You are going to be the one who takes the gold home." Marco smiled kindly to his pupil.

 _Ba-bump, ba-bump._

Marina's eyes sparkled, "Of course, Marco." Her coach was taken aback by his pupil; she never called him by his first name. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the score.

"And the score for Marina Sokolova's free skate is 135.35. Combining this with her short program score of 69.78, brings her to a total of 205.13. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a personal best of Sokolov and this places her in first place as well."

Once again, tears started to form around her eyes, "All that hard work was worth it for this moment." Marco fist pumped in the air then he grabbed Marina's head and kissed her forehead. Now it was Marina's turn to be taken back, she blushed a new shade of red, and fell down in her seat and curled up into a little ball, hoping for her existence to vanish away from the world into oblivion.

* * *

AN- Hello guys! I hope you guys enjoyed this little prologue of something big. I have so many things in the head floating around wanting to write to down into this hopefully amazing story. I'm an amateur writer hoping to become a decent one. I want people to try and love this just beginning story as much as I do. Please, I am begging you. Please give me any advice at all. Whether grammar or ice skating advice at all. I'm just going off what I know. I appreciate you taking your time to read this story. Thank you so much.


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